


decoded

by crytalstellar



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Female Pronouns for Reader, Reader-Insert, Suspense, rival hacker au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2018-08-28 13:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8447683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crytalstellar/pseuds/crytalstellar
Summary: As one of the newest recruits for Hackers Chasing Hackers, one of your goals is to help recruit the infamous hacker 707 into the ranks. When other members of the group start dropping off the radar, a misunderstanding leads you to being banned by the group. Determined to clear your name and get to the bottom of the disappearances, you end up working with none other than the great 707 himself.





	1. The Lead

**Author's Note:**

> Rivals to lovers is probably one of my favorite tropes and so rival hacker au was born! Well, kinda rivals. Ahaha. Anyway, I posted this on tumblr a while back, but I've decided to be not lazy and post it here too. o 3o 
> 
> I hear there's gonna be a love triangle later on. It's gonna be fun. LOL. 
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!

“Hey guys? Don’t you think that this is a little too easy?”

Your voice is lost, drowned in a cacophony of voices. No one is listening. Of course they aren’t, after all, who would listen to the newest recruit? It was a dream come true getting that email to join Hackers Chasing Hackers. There was no denying it was an acknowledgement of your skill as a hacker, but at the end of the day, the newest person is still the newest person. If you wanted to be heard, you would have to earn that right.

But at least you had earned the privilege assisting the team that was supposed to hack 707’s system. You have to admit the whole idea of it is a little nerve-wracking. Any hacker worth their salt has at least heard of 707. You don’t know if he is the best hacker in the world, but he’s probably up there which is why Hackers Chasing Hackers wants to recruit him. And they intend to do it by beating him at his own game.

Of course, 707 is a world class hacker, so naturally it's not going to be easy, which is why you’re a little worried. The team is able to get through the initial barriers easily enough, but there’s a little voice in the back of your head that tells you that you’re being toyed with. You feel as though 707 is just watching and waiting to shut the whole operation down right when you’re about to achieve victory.

Of course, that’s just a hunch.

But then again, you’ve heard it’s best to trust your gut feeling because, more times than not, your gut feeling ends  up being right.

And lo and behold, moments later when the team reaches what appears to be the final defense in 707’s system and suddenly your keyboard stops working as if it’s been disconnected or… as if it’s being controlled remotely. You hear the cries of some of the other members echo in your ears. It seems you’re not the only one who’s lost control of their computer.

A loud crackle of static revertebrates through the speakers and you have to stop yourself from ripping off your headphones.

“Looks like you got close~” an autotuned voice announces cheerfully. “But you lost the game~ So you’ll have to pay the price~”

There’s a clenching feeling in your stomach and you don’t think you’re going to like where this goes.

“Thank you for your heartfelt donation to 707’s Baby Foundation, please enjoy the rest of your day~”

You hear a bunch of voices clamoring for an explanation, but, as you would expect, you get none. Instead, the screen of your computer flickers before it begins to reboot itself. You feel your phone buzz in your pocket. The feeling of dread increases as you pull it out to check the notification.

It’s from Paypal.

It’s says you’ve sent out a fairly large payment to the  707 Baby Foundation.

So that’s what he meant.

Your computer finishes rebooting and the first thing you do is log into the Hackers Chasing Hackers chat server. Some of the other members of the 707 hack team have already logged back in and have already seen the little money transfer. The server chat is lit up with a ton of incoherent keyboard smashing. There had to be around twenty people on the hack team but from the sounds of it, it wasn’t just the hack team who’d been hit- it was the entire organization.

There’s something amazing about how he managed to hack roughly one hundred separate accounts almost simultaneously.

And something kind of sexy.

* * *

“…so the plan is that we use this party to find 707,” Code GAGA tells you as you walk through the doubles doors into the venue where the RFA party is being held. “I’ve heard it’s pretty exclusive, so we should be able to find her. Especially with the information the organizer gave us. You remember, don’t you?”

“707 is supposedly an elderly woman called Lucky Kim,” you respond almost monotonously.

“Good, so make sure you’re on the lookout. This is the first lead we’ve had on 707 in months and I’m not about to let it slip through my fingers.”

707 wouldn’t be a top class hacker if their personal information was so easily obtained. In fact, you felt like this entire thing was some sort of prank cooked up by 707. And if that were really the case, then it was likely that either 707 isn’t actually going to be at the party and will be watching it through some sort of surveillance camera. Though, the possibility that 707 has decided to attend this party still exists. And if that’s the case, then 707 is definitely not an elderly woman called Lucky Kim.

You begin to at least tell Code GAGA some of this, but you find that he’s already left your side to seek out anyone who could potentially be 707. The plan was to split up, so you’re not surprised since you (and probably every other hacker in the organization) know how much he wants to get 707. Still, you sigh. You were picked to go the party because you happened to live the closest, but, you feel someone else should have gone. If you have to be perfectly honest, there are other things you would rather be doing.

But, a mission is a mission, and despite your reluctance, you resolve to keep an eye out for someone who might be 707, even though you think that it could be anyone. You decide to head over to where all the hors d’oeuvres are being served, thinking it might be a good spot to scope out the party guests for any potential suspects.

And, in the very least, you’ll get to try some fancy party food.

As you make your way to where the food is, the sight of a familiar blond haired young man momentarily stops you in your tracks. When you finally get ahold of yourself, you duck down behind a table. Carefully, you peek over the top, hoping that maybe you saw wrong, that it was just some look alike. Luckily for you, he turns in your direction, giving you a clear view of his face.

There’s no mistaking it.

It’s Yoosung Kim.

Your brow furrows in frustration and you can’t help but wonder why your classmate is at a fancy party like this. Yoosung’s a nice guy, that much you can admit, but he’s also a bit of a slacker who only plays LOLOL… If you remember right, he’s the second best on his server which is pretty impressive but it’s hard to believe that he’d be invited for such a thing, then you remember that you’re at the party on the behalf of an organization that specializes in hacking.

“Excuse me miss~ what are you doing?”

You jump a little and slowly tilt your head up toward the speaker. A handsome young man with crazy glasses and red hair looks back down at you, a somewhat amused look on his face. You feel your face heat up from his gaze and quickly look back to the ground.

“Ah! I, uh, dropped something!” you lie, reaching down to look as if you’re trying to grab something off of the ground. After a minute of ‘searching’ you rise to your feet and laugh a little nervously, face warm with embarrassment. “Well, at least, I thought I did…”

Your laugh awkwardly trails off and you start to leave, but realize that the stranger is still looking at you with an amused, but expectant grin. Feeling a little uncomfortable, you squirm a little beneath his gaze. “Um…”

“I was just wondering which organization you’re with,” he explains, still smiling. You tilt your head in confusion, but then notice the yellow lanyard around his neck signifying that he’s one of the party organizers.

“Oh. Um…” You’re fairly sure that, you should be keeping your true objective a secret, meaning you should also keep your organization a secret. And so you wrack your brain, trying to remember what other organizations were in attendance, but there’s something about the look in this guy’s eye (or is it the curve of his smile, you’re not sure) that makes your mind go blank. Finally, your mind comes up with an answer and spits it out, “Hackers Chasing Hackers.”

Well, there goes that plan.

The redhead cocks an eyebrow at you, looking as if he’s trying to stifle a laugh. “…is that… so?”

You figure there’s no use in lying now. “…yes.”

“Wow~ That’s pretty cool,” the stranger tells you, his eyes alight with admiration. “Does that mean you’re a hacker too?”

“Ah,” you flush a little. “Yeah… I’m not that amazing though…”

“I don’t know~ It still seems pretty cool don’t you think?” The red-haired young man’s eyes begin to glimmer as he begins to wave his hands around excitedly. “The click-clacking of the keyboard and the glowing of the computer screen being the only light in the room as your try to sneak into a company’s electronic back door to find out some important information…. It just sounds really awesome!”

You laugh nervously. “I don’t know about that… we really just try to use our skills for good and stop bad hackers who use their skills for things like extortion.”

He grins at you, “That still sounds pretty cool to me~ Honestly, I’m terrible with computers… So maybe a cool hacker like you would be willing to teach me?”

Your face heats up a bit and you look away, “Well, I’m… probably not the best teacher…”

“Oh…” His shoulders visibly slump in dejection and you can’t help but feel bad. Should you have said yes? “Why are there a bunch of hackers here? Are you on a mission to catch some bad guy?!”

“Oh, um.” You’re caught a little off guard by his personality going back and forth, but at the same time, it’s a kind of cute. You wonder if it’s okay to talk about. But you’re already spilled the beans at this point, so what’s the harm? “Well, we’re really here for recruitment.”

He tilts his head to the side, confusion evident.

“Um… yeah, me and my… boss, I guess, are looking for a hacker called 707 because we want to recruit them and we heard they would be here.”

“Oh~” For a split-second you see the corner of his mouth twitch as if he’s about to grin, but it disappears so quickly you think that maybe you imagined it. “Is 707 a good hacker?”

You blink for a second before rapidly nodding your head up and down. “I think they’re probably one of the best in the whole world, honestly. Some of the hackers in our organization are crazy good, but we can’t even make a scratch on 707’s defenses… Well, there was one time we thought we did, but they just destroyed us… Anyway, some of the stuff they’ve done is just so insane… I can’t help but wonder how someone can be that good.

“And, despite 707’s skills, they only seems to use their skills for good- like they’ll expose companies who’ve been doing some things under the table and it’s just… amazing. So I can’t help but really admire 707.”

Once you’re finally done, you look back to the young man, who looks taken aback. You realize that you’d been rambling and quickly bow your head. “Ack. I’m sorry, I just got kind of carried away back there…”

“Ah… Well, it sounds like this 707 is a pretty cool person~ I’d love to meet him~ I bet a world class hacker like him could probably teach me a thing or two about computers,” he responds after seeming to have regained his composure.

You nod your head in agreement. Then a question pops up in your head. This guy is part of the RFA and if your earlier hypothesis is right, he might actually know something about 707, despite what he’d just said. There’s no guarantee that he’ll answer you if you do ask, but you figure there’s no harm in trying. “….do you… maybe know anything?”

“About 707?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s a hacker~” He bounces a little as he responds cheerfully.

You give him a deadpan glare. “Well, I just told you that… Do you know anything else?”

“Why would you ask that~?”

Your eyes narrow. Something tells you that this guy might actually know something, so you tell him your hypothesis in hopes that maybe he’ll give you some bit of information. “Well… to be honest, I’m sure 707 knows we’re here looking for them, but making us come here is part of some prank they’ve got planned… and if that’s the case, wouldn’t it make sense for 707 to cooperate with the RFA…?”

“Maybe~ I mean, what you’re saying does make sense~” he gives you a smile that seems a little too innocent. “But if this 707 is as good as you say, don’t you think maybe he set this up without our knowledge?”

“…what are you saying?”

His eyes narrow, almostly mockingly. “Maybe he hacked our organizer’s email to communicate with you.”

Your eyes widen, you hadn’t thought about that possibility. It was weird for Hackers Chasing Hackers to get an invite to this kind of thing in the first place. The red-haired young man’s lips curl up into an amused grin. He seems pleased with your reaction, but something feels off. What he’s told you makes sense logically, but… you have the feeling that what you initially thought is right. You open your mouth to tell him this, but it seems your companion is distracted by something.

“It looks like V is about to make a speech…” he says, almost to himself before looking back to you. He pats you on the shoulder and whispers. “Well, good luck finding 707~”

And then he’s gone. You whip your head around to see where he’s gone, but it’s as it he disappeared into thin air. Something about that entire conversation strikes you as odd, and you replay it in your head. After the third time you realize two things.

One, that guy definitely knew something about 707.

Two, 707 is a man.

 


	2. Attempting Retaliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> after failing to locate 707 at the rfa party, code gaga decides to launch yet another attack on the great hacker's system.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so apparently i live!
> 
> hello, and i think it's been a year since i've post chapter one. oops. i've actually had the majority of this chapter done for a while, but no motivation to finish. i think that part of it is that there's not that much dialogue in this one... but! v route just came out so it's given me a lot inspiration LOL. 
> 
> anyway, i hope it's okay... and consistent! i've found that this mc is fairly capable so long as seven isn't in her face. he's too handsome for her lolol. /shot 
> 
> please enjoy! i'll try to update the next chapter in a more reasonable time frame LOL.

“Oh, hey!”

The sound of Yoosung’s voice causes you to freeze. He’d ditched class earlier this week, so it’s the first time you’ve seen him since the RFA party. Slowly, you turn to face him, an easy grin on your face. You’re fairly sure he doesn’t know you were there, and you hope to keep it that way. “What’s up, Yoosung?”

The blond haired boy hurries over so that you’re standing side by side. Once he catches up, you keep walking in the direction of your dorm. “Not much really.”

“I didn’t see you in class on Monday… were you sick…?” you ask.

“Ah, no, I was really tired so I didn’t go…”

“Were you up late playing LOLOL again?”

He laughs nervously. There’s no doubt in your mind that you’ve hit the nail on the head, though it’s also Yoosung and he’s not all that hard to figure out. You give him a reprimanding look and he pouts at you, offering his excuse, “I...I had a really busy weekend! I didn’t have time to play at all.”

The RFA party was this past weekend so it makes sense. It was a pretty big event and Yoosung was probably busy helping organize the entire thing. Your thoughts drift to that red haired RFA member. There’s no denying that that guy knew something about 707, but despite your best efforts you weren’t able to find him again at the party. You did try visiting the RFA’s website to see if you could find a list of their members, but there was none, and hacking into their website yielded absolutely no results.

Of course, you _could_ just ask Yoosung. Surely, he knew that guy since they were members of the same organization. However, if you asked him, you’d also be essentially telling him that you were at the party which would lead to you having to tell him _why_ you were there. You’re not ready to admit that you’ve been moonlighting as a hacker just yet.

“Did I miss anything in class?” Yoosung’s voice snaps you back to reality. 

“We have a test on Monday.” 

“Whaaaat?” he whines, slumping his shoulders. “Already? That’s just a couple days from now!” 

You nod and open your mouth to suggest studying together, but stop yourself before the words come out. The last time the both of you ‘studied’ together, you both just ended up playing LOLOL for a couple hours. Needless to say neither of you got very good grades on that test and as much as you do like playing LOLOL, you would prefer to get something above D- on this next one.

The next couple minutes are spent in silence. You can tell that Yoosung is sulking, at least he is until his phone starts beeping. He checks it and his mood does a complete one-eighty. Must have been LOLOL related.

“Hey, hey hey!” he begins to speed up, bouncing up and down as he goes. “That was my guild leader and apparently there’s an event starting in a little bit! ”

“Oh?” You move to match Yoosung’s pace.

“Yeah! We gotta hurry!”

He breaks out into a run and you follow after, not wanting to be left behind. It only takes the both of you more couple minutes to reach the dorm, and by the time you get to your room, you’re a little out of breath.

“Are you gonna hop on too?” Yoosung asks excitedly.

“Um. Maybe.” The truth is that there is supposed to be a Hackers Chasing Hackers meeting within the next hour or so. You haven’t really checked anything on LOLOL for the past few days, so you don’t know much about the event… It probably wouldn’t take too long to do, but you also don’t want to miss the meeting.

He tilts his head to the side. “It’s a special event though!”

“I have stuff to do. For school,” you offer as an elaboration. “But you better get going, especially if you wanna be ‘world first.’”

“Oh! You’re right!” He turns on his heel and gives you a quick wave before heading off. “Wish me luck!”

You’re able to squeeze in a quick goodbye before he zooms off to his room. Once he’s out of sight, you duck into your room. You pull your laptop out of your bag and place it on your desk. It would be nice to have a desktop setup at the dorm, but your laptop suits you just fine for the time being. You turn it on and grab a quick snack while it boots up. When it’s done you sign into your computer and put on your headset and munch on your snack while waiting for your computer to finish starting up.

As soon as you log onto the server, you see that a bunch of your fellow hackers are already chatting. Most of them are discussing the meeting you’re supposed to be having soon. It’ll probably be about the party since Code GAGA hasn’t called a meeting since then. You briefly consider skipping out on the meeting, or at least the first part of it so you can do that event in LOLOL since you already know that you weren’t able to find 707 at the party. In the end, however, you decide to stay, figuring there will probably be more to the meeting, like status reports and group assignments for any new projects. You notice Code GAGA log in and all of the chatting in the server immediately ceases. The screen shows that he’s typing and he posts for everyone to get into voice channel. You immediately do as he says, making sure to mute yourself as soon as you get on. Then, once most everyone is in voice chat, Code GAGA finally speaks, “Hello everyone. I’m sure you’re all eager to hear the results of our infiltration of the RFA party this past Sunday.”

He pauses for a moment before he continues, “We’d received information that 707 was to be at this party, however it turns out that it was just a false lease.”

You, of course, think that it wasn’t ‘just a false lead’ but without any concrete evidence… Grumbling, you lean over your desk, waiting to see what else he has to say.

“Of course, we won’t let this deter us from finding 707,” he continues. “And speaking of 707, I’ve analyzed the previous methods we used in our attempts to hack his system and I believe I’ve finally found an effective method to get in.”

This causes you to perk up a little. Admittedly, you’re a little excited at the thought that maybe, just maybe this time you guys can beat him… But more than anything you’re nervous, especially when you’ve got a bad feeling about this. You almost type out that you think it’s a bad idea, but the other hackers are flooding the chat server, saying that you should try this new method out. Slowly, you lower your hands. Even if you said something, it’d get lost in the sea of messages.

“I guess we’re all in agreement then,” Code GAGA chuckles, sounding almost smug. “We’ll begin tonight. I shouldn’t need to tell you what time. I’ll let everyone on the hacking team the details an hour before we start.”

Then he logs out.

Everyone starts chatting excitedly about how they think they’ll be able to get 707 this time. But despite your bad feeling, you remain silent. After thinking on it, you don’t think that it’s going to be as Code GAGA seems to think. You highly doubt that you’re going to be on the team, especially since the RFA party infiltration mission was a bust. It’d be better to work on school work than to wait to see if you get that email. One of your professors did assign a rather lengthy essay, and you want to try and get started on that as soon as possible.

At least that’s what you try to do until you get a message from one of the other hackers in the group. The both of you joined around the same time, so you became friends pretty quickly. You’ve even chatted and played games with her on occasion.

 

 

 

> **meenmeen:** hey. aren’t u gonna get on?
> 
> _**me:** huh? why? _
> 
> **meenmeen:** silly. ur on tonight’s hacking team.

Surprised, you quickly check your Hackers Chasing Hackers email and find that you did indeed get the briefing email. Luckily, there’s still a half hour before the operation so you still have time to prepare.

 

> _**me:** Shit. i didn’t even notice. _
> 
> **meenmeen:** np! I told them ur prolly working on school work which is why i messaged u here lol
> 
> _**me:** Thanks Minji! Tell them I’ll be on in a minute. _
> 
> **meenmeen:** o7

You log into the server and see that most of the other people who are on tonight’s hacking teams are also logged in. Immediately, you apologize for your absence and tell them that you had been engulfed in your school work. Since your reasoning is valid you’re forgiven fairly quickly, and a few members even ask if you want to sit out and have someone else take your place. However, you tell them that it’s fine and that you needed a break from the essay anyway. You spend the rest of the time looking over the email and the methods that Code GAGA wants the team to use for this operation.

From the looks of it, each member will start with a different method and change methods a few times throughout. Each person received a different list of methods to go through and each person is set to change methods at different intervals… The intent is to overwhelm 707 by throwing a bunch of different attacks at him. It seem like a good idea, and it probably would work against your average hacker, but…

Out of the corner of your eye you notice that you have one minute left before the operation begins. With a deep breath, you crack your knuckles and get ready to get to work.

 

* * *

 

“Hm?” 

Noticing something seems a little off, Saeyoung turns to examine one of his computer monitors. After a moment, a slight grin spreads across his face. “...Oho~ What’s this…?”

He turns his full attention to the screen. From the looks of it, his system is being attacked by roughly twenty different sources. Saeyoung scoffs a tiny bit. It’s obvious that it’s Hackers Chasing Hackers picking yet another fight… To be honest, he was expecting they’d pull something like this soon. They probably weren’t too pleased that he managed to slip through their fingers again…

Saeyoung's thoughts drift to the girl that he met at the party who said she was part of the group. It had been a lot of fun teasing her. Is she part of the team that’s trying to hack him? Before he knows it, he’s already starting to check.

Whoever’s in charge of this attack is having the hackers change methods every so often, which is a smart move, but it leaves them a little defenseless. It takes him a couple minutes, but he goes through and checks the source of each attack. If they aren’t in Korea, he moves on, and if they are, he probes even further. Eventually, Saeyoung finds one that happens to be situated very close to Yoosung’s college. The thought of Yoosung causes something to click in Saeyoung’s head. When he first saw that girl, she had been staring at Yoosung, making it obvious that they knew one another. He’s able to pull up a name, and though she never gave it to him, it’s easy enough to check if they’re the same person thanks to social media.

He grins.

It _is_ her.

Saeyoung swivels his chair a little, “...I guess I can play with them a little…”

He spins a few times before he stops right before his keyboard and begins hacking away at his keyboard. One by one, he takes down each hacker. Since each one is distracted, it’s even easier than normal. Though, by the fifth one, it starts to get a little harder. They’re probably telling each other that he’s retaliating and focusing less on attacking and more on defending.

Though that won’t help them much.

Eventually he’s left with just the leader and the girl. Saeyoung debates for a minute who to take down first, then he decides to go for the leader. He puts up a good fight for a moment before he goes down, leaving just her. She doesn’t fall as easily as he expected, mostly because she uses a different method that the other hackers didn’t use to evade him.

“Not bad… not bad...” he murmurs, obviously enjoying himself. “But not good enough~”

 

* * *

 

“Dammit!”

You slam your fists down on your desk. Of course you knew that there was no way you could evade the great 707 himself, but to be shut down is so damn frustrating especially since he seemed to be toying with everyone today.

One of the other hackers quietly says over the voice channel, “...guess that’s a failure….”

There’s a murmur of agreement amongst everyone else, then, someone exclaims, “What’s going on?!”

You look up at your computer screen and instantly realize that it’s being controlled remotely. The desperate screams of your colleagues echo in your ears as you helplessly watch him install… something onto your laptop. Your heart freezes when the sound is suddenly cut off and the screen turns black, but the power is still on… e didn’t remotely fry the motherboard did he…? Shakily, you reach out for the power button, but just as you’re about to press it, the screen flickers back to life and your computer boots up like normal.

You’re about to breathe a sigh of relief, but then you see the log on screen. It must be what 707 installed. On the screen there’s a message from him.

 

 

> _Have fun hacking back in~_
> 
>  

Perplexed, you stare at the screen for a moment before you try to get back into your computer, but it’s no good at all, nothing you do on your computer is working. You check your phone to find that 707 has installed this little ‘gift’ on every Hackers Chasing Hackers computer.

You groan, it’s going to take at least one whole night to get back into your computer.

Guess you’re not going to get back to that essay tonight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah man, it's been so long since i wrote seven... i've been in saeran hell for so long... 
> 
> also, i wonder what kind of game LOLOL is... it appears to be some kinda moba-mmo hybrid... hm...


	3. A Two Man Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> you finally free your laptop from the clutches of 707's nefarious virus. for a moment you're free before your good ol' pal minji drags you back in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! i did good guys, didn't take nine months to update... tbh i did mean to have this done about a week ago, but i've been feeling a little under the weather. 
> 
> the mc's friend, minji, who was introduced last chapter, has a larger role in this chapter. i hope you guys like her... ahaha.... i'm always iffy about having ocs... sinners has one and this fic will have two... ; A; anyway that aside, this chapter is a little shorter than the others, but i hope you guys enjoy!
> 
> a special shout out goes to my dear sweet friend postfixrevolution for beta-ing this! m ( _ _ ) m

“Finally!”

You heave a relieved sigh when the familiar sight of your laptop wallpaper meets your eyes. It’s been a few days since you had gotten that virus from trying to hack 707. Since your laptop was essentially useless, you had to make do with the computers in the campus lab until you were able to get home and rescue your precious laptop. It’d been a literal hell. Those ancient artifacts couldn’t hold a candle to your baby.

Lovingly, you stroke your laptop’s screen, “It’s so good to have you back….”

The first thing you do is check the Hackers Chasing Hackers chat server. Even though you had access from your phone, you hadn’t really checked it since your laptop went down. There hasn’t been much activity since then either. It seems a good deal of the other hackers are still struggling to rid themselves of the virus that 707 gave them. You probably would have been one of them if you hadn’t been hellbent on getting your laptop back. Those school computers… Just thinking about them again sends a shiver down your spine. Damn that 707!  if it weren’t for him and his stupid virus you would have been spared from such… such torture. If you could, you’d hack him yourself just to give him a taste of his own medicine.

You stop for a moment. If you could hack him yourself…

Slowly, you glance at your two computers, playing with the idea of hacking 707. Theoretically speaking, you do have the basic skill set needed to exact your revenge. The only thing stopping you is… You shake your head to rid yourself of the thought. You? Hack 707? By yourself? Are you crazy? There is no way… no way at all. If Hackers Chasing Hackers can’t do it as a group, then what in the world makes you think that you can do it on your own?

It’s a worthwhile goal, but one you’re not sure you can actually accomplish in the near future. 707 just seems like he’s on a whole different level. You let out a sigh before slapping your cheeks. It’s not good to let yourself get discouraged.

“I will become as good as him,” you mutter to yourself. “I will… I will…!”

You give yourself a couple more encouraging cheek slaps before returning to your computer. While you were preoccupied, you’d received a message from Minji.

> **meenmeen:**  hey  
>  _**me:** yo_  
>  **meenmeen:** ur comp’s fixed now???  
>  _**me:** yeah._  
>  **meenmeen:**  woahhh. I’m still working at it.  
>  _**me:**  do you want help?_  
>  **meenmeen:** nah, it’s good practice 4 me.  
>  **meenmeen:**  i think i almost got it anyway.

Minji has a good point. Despite the frustration you’d gotten from 707’s virus, it was still a good way to hone your skills. You couldn’t really describe the intense feeling of relief and accomplishment you’d gotten from finally ridding yourself of it, and you didn’t want to take that away from Minji. The messenger dings again and you look back to the screen.

> **meenmeen:**  bet u had fun tho.  
>  **meenmeen:** i know how much u love 707’s stuff.

You feel yourself flush red. Admittedly, she is right, though you wouldn’t exactly call what you had ‘fun.’ You’ve only had a few chances to hack 707’s systems, but each time you’re in awe of how intricately built they are. There’s no doubt in your mind that he must slave over his work, spending hours upon hours perfecting each system. You can’t help but appreciate how much effort he must put in, and maybe that’s why you like hacking him.

> _**me:**  u don’t?_  
>  **meenmeen:** hell no. it’s so complicated  
>  **meenmeen:** that guy is a total sadist.  
>  _**me:** but that’s the fun of it._  
>  **meenmeen:** ur crazy. the perfect maso for 707.

Sputtering, you stare at Minji’s words on the screen.

> _**me:** WHAT?!_  
>  **meenmeen:** bet that’s why u cracked it so fast.  
>  _**me:** no it’s cuz my school’s computers suck_  
>  **meenmeen:**  o okay if u say so.

There’s no doubt in your mind that Minji’s teasing you. For a while, she’s been convinced that you have a little crush on 707. It might be true, but you can’t really say when you’ve never met the guy. What you do  know for sure is that you admire his skills and you mildly enjoy trying to hack his systems, despite any frustration they might cause.. Maybe she is right about the masochist thing.

> **meenmeen:**  so once i’m done wanna go again?  
>  _**me:** …  
>  **me:** are you crazy? why???  
>  _**meenmeen:** oh come on, i know u want to.

You’re not going to tell her that the thought had crossed your mind. She would definitely lord that over you.

> _**me:**  it’s not gonna work._  
>  **meenmeen:**  but u’ll have fun~  
>  _**me:**  i’d rather not go through a week of hell again._  
>  **meenmeen:** no guarantee he’ll give us a virus.  
>  _**me:**  ugh…._

She has a point. There were some instances when Hackers Chasing Hackers would attempt to hack 707, but they’d just get forced out. You figured during those times 707 was just too preoccupied to retaliate.

> **meenmeen:**  come on… plz????  
>  **meenmeen:**  i’ll buy u a pizza.  
>  _**me:**  …ugh, fine.  
>  **me:** but if i get a virus again ur coming here to get rid of it. and you gotta let me use one of your spare laptops for school._  
>  **meenmeen:**  o7

You groan as you lean back in your chair. Ideally, Minji would take another week or two to rid herself of 707’s virus, but if she thinks she’s almost done… It’ll take her at least a few more hours and at most a day. You swivel in the chair back and forth wondering what to do while you wait. Since your laptop had been out, you couldn’t play any of your computer games, so you’d actually been a good student and finished all your readings and homework.

“Guess I’ll play some LOLOL… It has been a while…” you mumble to yourself as you open the program on your laptop. As soon as you log on, you get a message from Yoosung inviting to you to play a few co-op matches with him. It’s a good way to pass the time while you wait on Minji, so you agree. Every match you guys play is won with relative ease. Even though you don’t play that often, you’re a pretty decent player, but Yoosung is in a completely different league and he’s just the second best player on the server. It makes you wonder how good the top person is. When you have a free second in between matches you, look to see the name of the number one player on the server and find it’s someone called Awesome Hacker. Automatically, you think of 707, but there’s no way, right?

Midway through a match, you get a message from Minji. That’s probably her telling you that she’s done. You glance at the clock. It took her about two hours. Wait. Have you really been playing LOLOL that long? You take a quick second to tell Yoosung that this is your last match. If you wait for the match to be over, you might not get a chance to tell him before he throws you in queue for another match. Once you guys win, you tell him that you’ve got stuff to do and that you might be back on later. Naturally, his response is that he’ll probably be on. You exit out of the game and respond to Minji’s message, telling her that you guys should talk over voice chat.

A moment later, you get a pop up alerting you that she’s calling. You click the option for sound only and the window pops up, showing Minji practically shoving her face up in the camera.

“Oh, boo, no camera?” she pouts.

You didn’t really think there was a need to turn the camera since you’re just going to be discussing stuff. Minji continues to whine for a good minute before you reluctantly turn on the webcam. “Happy now?”

She beams at you. “You betcha! Now spill the beans. I know that you’ve probably got some idea in that little head of yours on how to hack into 707’s system.”

“Ideas, maybe, I can’t guarantee that they’ll work.”

“They’re probably better than Code GAGA’s plans,” Minji spins in her chair. “Now spill.”

You lean back, crossing your arms as you think. All of your hacking attempts so far have been the large scale operations that you’ve done as a member of Hackers Chasing Hackers. If it’s just you and Minji then there’s no way you could possibly use the same approach, unless you recruited more people. Of course, the only hackers you really know are other Hackers Chasing Hackers members, and recruiting them would probably result in some problems. You don’t think Code GAGA would take very well to you organizing something like that since he’s the group’s leader. “We’d… have to be sneaky. Chip at the framework bit by bit to lay in the groundwork to over take his system.”

Minji thinks about your suggestion for a minute before nodding her head in agreement. “That sounds like a good plan… how long do you think it would take?”

“With just the two of us?” You pause for a moment to calculate. “Uh… if everything went flawlessly, at least a couple weeks?”

“A few weeks!?”

“Yup, and that’s assuming the system is as big as I think it is.”

“And if it’s bigger?”

“Uh… maybe a few months.”

Minji lets out an exaggerated groan and flops over on her desk. Clearly, when she was asking for your ideas, she had been expecting something different.

“I never said my ideas were quick…” you explain. “But with the two of us, that would be the most efficient way. We don’t have the skill or the manpower to even an attempt a head-on assault.”

“I knooooow.”

“Should we just give up then?”

The young woman shoots up and smushes her face against the camera, “Hell no! I’m gonna make that 707 pay! Don’t you want ‘em to suffer for making you use those sorry excuses for computers?”

“Well, yeah, but…”

Minji slams her fist on her desk, causing the entire screen to shake. She glares at you through the camera, clearly displeased with your lack of enthusiasm. “Come on! This is 707 we’re talking about! And I know you wanna get as good as that freak with his convoluted codes, so come on, let’s do this! You know you’re not gonna get any better just sitting there. If anyone can do it, it’s you!”

Once Minji’s done with her little tirade, she lets out a huff. You can only stare at your screen in awe. It feels awfully strange for her to give you this kind of pep talk. When you first met, Minji told you that her becoming a hacker was just a byproduct of her computer skills. She’d only really joined Hackers Chasing Hackers because the prospect of being a ‘hacker’ seemed like fun to her. “Minji… do you maybe… really want to hack 707… You said you want revenge for the virus, but is it maybe… more than just that?”

Minji’s face turns red and she looks away from the screen. “I mean… who doesn’t…? Isn’t 707 the ultimate challenge?”

“I guess so…” you agree slowly with a smug grin.

A moment passes before she hesitantly turns to look back at you. “…argh, fine, okay! I really want to hack 707 but I can’t do it alone! Please help me!”

You grin, “…Fine. Let’s do this. But don’t forget, you owe me a pizza.”


	4. (Un)expected Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> when saeyoung/707 realizes that someone has hacked into his system he hatches what he thinks is an amusing plan...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! me again! so, i really meant to get this chapter out before november started (because i was doing nanowrimo), but didn't work out as i had planned. i even had about 70% of the chapter done.... OTL 
> 
> anyway, i do hope you guys enjoy this next chapter! thanks goes out to my lovely friends postfixrevolution and khismer for their help in bringing this chapter to life!

There are reasons why 707 is known as one of the best hackers in the world. **  
**

His attention to detail is one of them. It comes with the territory though. One tiny mistake can lead a myriad of errors within a function. And an error ridden function is likely not work, which could result in the weakening of the program as a whole. So naturally, when something has been changed, especially by another person, he’s quick to notice.

Like right now.

Someone has altered the code for his defensive systems. Saeyoung has programs set up for these kinds of things, and while he doesn’t doubt their effectiveness, sometimes it’s good to manually check things. He skims over the the code, sipping at his PhD Pepper. There are minor changes here and there, but for the most part everything is still the same. None of the changes are inherently harmful; even with them, everything still works, albeit less efficiently than what he prefers. Whoever is doing this is trying to be discreet about their mischief.

The keyword here being _trying_.

Saeyoung checks to see if he can track the source and, of course, they covered their tracks. Not that it’ll help them much. It takes him a couple minutes to uncover the hackers. The IPs look familiar, and when he checks he finds they belong to two members of Hackers Chasing Hackers. Saeyoung’s lips tug upward into a grin. It looks like she’s one of them.

“Interesting…” he murmurs. Normally, Hackers Chasing Hackers takes a while to nurse their wounds when he actively retaliates after one of their attacks, so he wonders if maybe this is something orchestrated by either her or her partner. It wouldn’t be the first time that one or two members of the group has gone after him on their own.

He leans back in his chair and stares up thoughtfully at the some of the glow in the dark stars he’s stuck to the ceiling. Of course, he can’t just let the two get their way. After all, he has a reputation to uphold. Bets are they’re trying to weaken his defenses a little before they attack so that they have a better chance of taking him down. Saeyoung scoffs. It’s a viable effort, but in the end, it’s not going to work.

His hands hover over the keyboard. If he wanted to, Saeyoung could crush them and all their hard work almost instantly.

But then the image of that girl’s flustered expression as he remembers it from the party comes to mind.

And with it, an interesting idea.

* * *

“…just how much more of this is there…” you grumble lowly, clacking away on your laptop. It’d been a few days since you and Minji had decided to take on 707. For the most part, things have been going rather smoothly, with the only issue being that his security system is much, much larger than you had anticipated. To compensate, you’ve been spending every spare moment trying to get as much done as you can. But you can already tell that it’s still going to take way longer than you had hoped to execute this plan. And the longer you take, the more likely 707 is going to figure out what you’re up to. The thought of whatever retribution he might have in store for your efforts sends shivers up and down your spine. You don’t think that you could take another week without your baby. The possibility of that alone powers your fingers to move a little faster.

Your stomach growls, protesting your decision to use your lunch break to hack instead of eat. You’ll get a sandwich or something you can eat on the way to your next class. For now, you’d rather use the time you have sitting down to hack.

“Hey!”

The sound of Yoosung’s voice makes you nearly jump out of your seat. You scramble to finish the little bit of code you’re working on, not wanting Yoosung to see what you’re doing. To be honest, you doubt he’d be able to tell, but better safe than sorry. Once you’re done, you look up to find two things, or rather, two people. Person number one is obviously Yoosung, who plops himself down right next to you and person number two… is the red haired guy from the party, grinning from ear to ear.

Every hair on your body stands on end as you watch the redhead settle himself on Yoosung’s other side. You’re pretty sure he’s not a student; that red hair of his sticks out like a sore thumb so you definitely would have seen him before. Then why is he here? Yoosung seems to realize that you’re staring at his companion and introduces him to you. “This is my friend, Saeyoung!”

“Hello~” the redhead bows his head, not bothering to hide the mischievous grin on his face. “Nice to meet you again!”

All the color drains from your face as Yoosung swings his head around to look at you, clearly confused. “Again…? Have you guys met before?”

“Uh… ” you mumble, unsure of what to say. Should you just lie and say that maybe Saeyoung has mistaken you for someone else? Or do you tell him the truth? But if you do that, you might just have to tell Yoosung everything… Before you can even make the decision yourself, Saeyoung decides to make it for you.

“We met at the party,” he answers in nonchalant tone.

“Party…” It takes a moment for the light bulb to go off in Yoosung’s head. “Oh! The RFA party! You were there too?”

“Um… yeah,” you nod sneaking a glare over at Saeyoung. His grin only widens in response.

Yoosung doesn’t seem to notice the dirty looks you’re shooting at his friend and pouts at you. “I was one of the hosts… Did you see me? Why didn’t you say hi?”

“You… looked kinda busy when i saw you,” you reply. It’s not entirely a lie, but you also had been actively trying to avoid him as well. “So I didn’t really get a chance…”

That answer seems to satisfy Yoosung, “Oh! I see!”

“Yeah, sorry about that…”

“It’s okay! I hope you still were able to have a good time!” Yoosung gives you a warm smile, which makes you feel a tiny bit guilty. Maybe you should have said hi to him after all… “I don’t remember seeing your name on the guest list, though… Did you come with an organization?”

You nod slowly, not liking where this seems to be headed.

“Oh cool! Which one?”

“Uh…” If possible, you’d like to avoid a slip up like you had last time, but since it’s been a couple weeks you can’t even remember any of the other groups that were there. Maybe you should just come clean after all… It’s not like Yoosung finding out you can hack would be the worst thing in the world.

“Didn’t you say you were part of that group selling keyboards?” Saeyoung interjects, in a surprisingly helpful way. Obviously, you didn’t, and you know Saeyoung knows that. Despite the fact he pushed you into this mess, the fact that he’s throwing you a lifeline is strange. But you’d be a fool not to take it.

“Yeah! Yeah! That’s right!” you agree, a little too enthusiastically.

“Ohhhhh,” Yoosung’s head bobs up and down in an enlightened way and you inwardly sigh, relieved that he seems none the wiser. Then, after a beat, he adds, “I remember you saying you were looking for a new gaming keyboard, Saeyoung, is that how you guys got to talking?”

You glance over at Saeyoung, who’s smile wavers just the tiniest bit, and respond in a careful sort of way, “Yeah, that’s right… he told me that he needed a new keyboard…”

“I thought so!” Yoosung nods again takes a big bite of the sandwich he’d bought for lunch. “Oh, did you know Saeyoung plays LOLOL too?”

“Does he?” you ask, raising an eyebrow. It doesn’t surprise you that a friend of Yoosung’s would play LOLOL, but if you remember right, Saeyoung told you at the party that he was absolutely no good with computers… Was he exaggerating when he said that? You look over at Saeyoung who gives you a tight smile. Something about his expression feels… off, but you can’t seem to pin your finger on it.

Yoosung chirps, “Yep! He’s even on our server!”

“Oh really?” That makes sense. Usually, people tend to play on the same servers as their friends. “What’s your username, maybe I’ve seen you around or something!”

Saeyoung laughs a bit and scratches the back of his neck looking a bit shy, “Ah… I don’t play that often…”

Yoosung nearly spits out the food in his mouth, “What!? You play a lot!”

“…in comparison to you, not really~” Saeyoung teases. You have to stifle a giggle. You don’t know anyone who’s as addicted to LOLOL as Yoosung. It’s a miracle that he’s made it this far in the real world. Sometimes you think that he should just become a professional LOLOL player instead of whatever it is he’s planning on doing in school.

“…you say that, but you’re the best player on the server,” Yoosung retorts, puffing out his cheeks in a pouty sort of way.

You blink, surprised by Yoosung’s comment. The  _best_  player on the server is  _Saeyoung_? But that would make him… “Awesome Hacker?”

“Yeah,” Yoosung huffs. “That’s him alright.”

Your breath catches in your throat at the confirmation. You were willing to believe that maybe, despite his lack of computer skills, Saeyoung can still play LOLOL on a casual level. But there’s absolutely no way that someone like that could be the top player on your server. You’ve never played with him personally, but you’ve heard the stories. Awesome Hacker’s skills are known to be unparalleled. Any party that raids with them is guaranteed to be world first. Hell, there are some rumors that Awesome Hacker may have two extra arms and that’s how they’re so good. And you’re supposed to believe that this godly player and Saeyoung are the same person?

One of them has to be lying. And between Yoosung, your friend who you’ve known since the beginning of this semester and Saeyoung, this handsome stranger who you’ve probably known for a total of fifteen minutes or so, it’s clear who you’re going to believe here. You glare at Saeyoung, who meets your gaze with a quiet chuckle. He must be able to tell that you’ve figured out his little ruse. If it weren’t for Yoosung, you’d be giving that liar an earful right about now.

“So, anyway, what were you doing?” Yoosung switches topics, completely oblivious to the stare war going on between you and Saeyoung. “I was calling out to you for a while.”

“Oh, just some homework,” you lie automatically.

“Lunchtime is a good time to do homework…” Yoosung mumbles thoughtfully as he munches on his food. Then, suddenly, he starts coughing like he’s choking. Alarmed, both you and Saeyoung both pat Yoosung on the back, trying to help him clear his throat.

“Yoosung? What’s wrong?” you ask, voice saturated with worry.

“Home…work…” he repeats weakly. Then he snatches his bag and begins rifling through it like a madman. Yoosung doesn’t seem to find what he’s looking for and then looks up at you, like a helpless child,  “I…I think I left my homework in my last class….”

“Oh.” Knowing him, he was probably working on it during class instead of paying attention to the lecture. “Maybe it’s still there…”

Yoosung’s eyes begin to dart around, as if he’s trying to figure out what he should do. Then he suddenly stands and sputters, “I… I’ll be right back!”

Then, before you can say anything else, he dashes out of the lunchroom.

“I really hope he finds it…” you say quietly, staring at the door he ran out of. It’d suck if he had to redo it, especially if he’d managed to actually get a lot done.

“Hopefully~”

The sound of the other voice causes you to freeze. Yoosung’s impromptu departure means that you’re alone with him. You turn your head to find Saeyoung staring back with an owlish expression. You have your reservations about being alone with him but at the same time since Yoosung’s gone now, you can actually give this guy a piece of your mind.

“So,” you begin. “You have some explaining to do.”

He shoots you a playfully evasive grin. “Do I?”

Something about the look on his face makes you feel a little tingly, but you ignore it and hiss, “Don’t play dumb with me! You said at the party that you were no good with computers, but just now Yoosung said that you’re the best player on our LOLOL server.”

Saeyoung merely shrugs and dramatically declares, “Maybe my love for LOLOL transcends my non-existent computer skills!”

“I’m not buying it,” you lean in a little closer to glare at him.  “Why did you lie? Do you have something to hide?”

“Nooo~”

“If you’re trying to convince me otherwise, you’re going to have to try harder than that!” You look up into Saeyoung’s eyes, trying to see if maybe you can find something there. But all you can see amidst the golden hue of his eyes is your reflection.

He chuckles a bit and leans in toward you,  “Maybe you’re the one who needs to try harder? Your seduction technique needs a little bit of work~”

You squeak when you realize just how close the two of you are to one another and jump backwards so that you’re at a more respectable distance. Saeyoung laughs and despite the fact that you’re red with embarrassment, you continue to glare at him. “I wasn’t trying to seduce you!”

“Oh?” he cocks his head to the side, eyes alight with amusement and a dash of confusion. “That’s too bad.”

You blink. Too… bad? What does that even mean? Did he think you were trying to actually flirt with him? Did he want you to? The thought of it makes your face feel warm and you look away, flustered. You were just trying to intimidate him into telling you the truth, but it- Something clicks in your head and you turn back to Saeyoung, glaring through narrowed eyes, “….are you trying to distract me?”

“Damn, my plan’s been foiled,” he responds in a lighthearted tone that makes it clear that he’s still toying with you. It’s a bit frustrating, but you’re not ready to give up.

You click your tongue in annoyance, “Too bad. So sad. Now out with it, I’m not letting you go until you tell me what you know.”

“…don’t you have class soon?”

He has a point. You look away from him, contemplating for a bit before you mutter, “I… I’ll skip it.”

“…what about when Yoosung comes back?” he adds, still clearly amused by all this. “Are you going to keep grilling me then?”

You groan. He’s got a point there too. Of course, you could just reveal to Yoosung that you’re a hacker, but you’re still not sure if your friendship is with him is on a high enough level for that reveal yet. Saeyoung still had that damn grin plastered on that smug mug of his. You can’t help but wonder where a nice guy like Yoosung met a dude like this.

“Give up yet?” he asks in a mockingly sweet voice.

“No!” you sit up straight and continue to glower at him. “Listen, obviously you must know something because if you didn’t, you would just tell me and be done with it.”

“Oh, you think so?”

For a split second, you doubt yourself. There’s the chance that this guy is just some weirdo who knows nothing and is just enjoying screwing with you right now. But he was at that party and he’s here right now. You don’t think that’s some coincidence.

“No. You definitely know something,” you tell him firmly. “Tell me what you know. Though, even if you don’t, I’ll find out one way or another-  I am a hacker, you know.”

Saeyoung’s catlike smile is replaced with a contemplative stare. Is that… a bad sign? You’re not quite sure, so you peer into his eyes again, trying to see if you can find a trace of what he could possibly be thinking. Once more you find nothing, and he says nothing, you feel a ball of nervousness begin to grow inside you. Then, he begins to speak, and you brace yourself for whatever he has to say.

But what you hear isn’t an explanation, but a loud cackle. Saeyoung holds his stomach as he dissolves in a fit of laughter. You can’t help but feel a bit embarrassed sitting next to him as he’s starting to gain an audience. Once he starts to calm down, he speaks, wiping at the tears that had formed at the corners of his eyes, “…okay, you got me.”

Your pulse quickens at the sound of his words.

“I’ll tell you what I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i don't usually do end notes- but this is something i did want to mention- i did have a bit of a crisis midway through the chapter because i wasn't sure if seven should reveal his identity earlier than i had planned so i held a poll on my twitter. and while he didn't reveal it this chapter, the poll did effect how this was supposed to all go. 
> 
> i do feel bad that this wasn't something i foresaw and so anyone who reads this fic exclusively on ao3 may have not been able to input. so i'm deeply sorry about that guys! m (_ _) m
> 
> i hope you enjoyed and will continue to enjoy this fic!


End file.
